Training Log Archive: revy

Col de Bavella loop with Courtney. The climb to the Col is supposedly one of the best climbs in Corsica... I'm glad I did it but it was the sort of climb that is fine done only once;)

We started on some quieter backroads (overall the roads near Porto Vecchio are busier) then had several km on the main hwy which wasn't great but better than expected. One more quiet section and another main road section (quieter this time) before the first stop in Solenzara. From there the road starts climbing - you'd think that going from sea level to 1200m over 30km would be fine but 90% of the climbing is over about 13km. Lots of continuous sections of 10% plus...

The granite towers in the valley leading up to the Col are scenic (Aiguilles de Bavella) and we passed some rivers that are popular for canyoning. Overall a lot of the road is in the trees so not a lot of views. The loop was also missing the usual assortment of random scenic villages. It seems very popular with day trippers from the Porto Vecchio resorts though as all the trailheads had many cars. Zonza was nice and stopped there for a coke. Luckily the last climb was quite gentle as my legs were pretty tired and the descent from Ospedale was very fast with good pavement. The section before Ospedale had lots of cool granite boulders.

C • 2300 meters of climb! 8

Fast solo ride near Porto Vecchio. Much different feel on this end of the island (especially here) as a lot more people and more sun-seeking tourists (lots of vacation complexes) due to the nice beaches. The ride was good - went early to avoid traffic. Not as stunning as some rides in the north (didn't help that I was riding into the sun for the first 15km) but still nice.

Easy but warm hike along the cliffs east of Bonifacio (a cliff top town on the southern tip of Corsica). Got some nice views of the town and also the huge white cliffs.

SUP with Courtney at Plage Giulia. This perhaps one of the nicest beaches I've been to in terms of combination of nice sand, shallow water, protected bay, interesting coves and inlets, various rocks to explore out in the bay, scenic backdrop and not overdeveloped right behind the beach. Lots of families out - feels so different than northern Corsica where we had beaches to ourselves (it is finally in the mid twenties so that helps). The random rocks that poke out along the shore make it quite unique. We had a bit of wind outside the bay so didn't venture far.

Nice and calm today and made it to the islands with Courtney.

A nice ride on the northern tip of Cap Corse. Ideally we would have done this when we did the Cap Corse ride two weeks ago however it seemed like doing a 125km ride right off the bat would have been a bit much. The northern tip has more of the same - great views, nice pavement, little traffic. The only section of poor pavement was the start of the descent to Centuri Port. I kind of felt like we were in Newfoundland at the bottom there. The connector across the island was a pleasantly surprising road - we saw no cars, the upper part was very open and scenic while the lower part made me feel like we were back in the Colombian forest. I did three 5 minute threshold climbs to add some intensity. Weather forecast was not promising but other than some fog at the first pass and a 15 minute shower on the last climb it was quite pleasant with acceptable views.

If doing the Cap ride I'd probably recommend doing the full loop but via Rogliano. The D35 cut off is nice too but it is cool to see the northern coast.

C • Have you posted photos yet? 4

Good fast paced solo paddle - no breaks and definitely felt like I was breathing hard. There was some swell but pretty predictable (other than near the rocks) and I feel that i'm getting used to it as I spend more time on the water. Had limited time so didn't quite make it to the islands. Route is a bit see-saw as I was trying to avoid paddling broad side to the waves which were coming from the SE.

Morning paddle in Macinaggio. More swell than expected so stayed in the bay and harbour where it was more sheltered.

Pictures are from Bastia and the drive north.

Sentiers de Douaniers hike from Barcaggio to Macinaggio with Courtney and her parents. This is a popular hike and I was expecting a fairly mellow 5 foot wide trail so was pleasantly surprised by the ruggedness and the narrow trail. it certainly got busier and wider as we got closer to Macinaggio as most people seem to just do an out and back to the ruined tower (which was pretty cool - half is missing). Also saw the cows that hang out on the beach. My sister will be jealous as she wanted to see them.

Ran back to Barcaggio to retrieve the car. Took the inland route as an alternative so almost half the trail was new to me. Steady pace- felt good. This is a great trail for running.

Solo ride up Restonica Gorge early in the morning as I was the driver today on the transfer day. Steady tempo pace. I saw 5 cars total which was good as the road is very narrow with unprotected drop offs. The climb starts fairly mellow and then ramps up. There was a km stretch after the bridge where it seemed the pitch was always between 17 and 23 degrees. I was a bit early to get the best light at the end of the valley (though the road just kind of ends in a random spot). Beautiful ride none the less and the descent was fun - other than the blind corners;)










Then spent the day driving the bike route which again had no vehicular traffic and connected a series of villages with a ridiculous road high on the side of a mountain.